The NRA filed for bankruptcy in Texas in response to @NewYorkStateAG Tish James's lawsuit in New York seeking its dissolution for violations of state charity law.
Right out of the gate, Judge Hale says that's not what bankruptcy is for.
To file for bankruptcy, the NRA established a Texas entity Sea Girt LLC, which regulators call LaPierre's "wholly owned shell company."
The judge describes the cash-flush group's "somewhat unusual" path to bankruptcy court here.
The judge found LaPierre's own testimony helpful in justifying his ruling to dismiss the bankruptcy petition, because the NRA chief pretty much said it's about avoiding the NYAG.
Essentially, Judge Hale found that the NRA can't declare bankruptcy to get a leg up on that lawsuit.
"Courts have consistently held that a bankruptcy case filed for the purpose of obtaining an unfair litigation advantage is not filed in good faith and should be dismissed."
"In an odd twist for a bankruptcy case, the NRA is financially healthy, and undisputed creditors are likely to be paid sooner in the ordinary course outside of bankruptcy than they would if they must wait for confirmation of a plan of reorganization."
Judge Hale rattles off the aspects of the case that "still trouble the Court" in the conclusion here.
The ruling appears to steer mostly clear of the more sensational aspects of the case, i.e. LaPierre's yacht trips and nearly $300K Zegna suits.
Hale does, however, note "cringeworthy facts" that turned up at trial, such as one exec asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination through broad swaths of his deposition.
He voices "concern" over NRA's apparent procedural violations over $100K contracts.
Judge Hale dismissed the petition without prejudice, meaning the NRA could try it again.
But that invitation was not a warm one.
The NRA did not immediately reply to a press inquiry about their intent.
I folded these observations into an update of the story at the top of the thread.
Have some time for an hourlong audio deep-dive, with audio highlights from LaPierre's testimony?
Jack Smith just filed a superseding indictment against Trump.
Prosecutors say the new indictment "reflects the Government’s efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court’s holdings and remand instructions in Trump v. United States."
A superseding indictment replaces an existing indictment.
There are no new charges in today's indictment against Trump here, only the same four leveled against him in connection with the 2020 election, tailored to pass the Supreme Court's new test.
Today's news does, however, mean that another grand jury that did not see the evidence earlier put their stamp on the same charges.
On a quick glance, the latest indictment is shorter, and nixes DOJ-related claims that wouldn't have survived the immunity ruling.
Trump's lawyers filed a motion to vacate his 34 felony convictions and dismiss his New York indictment.
In the wake of SCOTUS's immunity ruling, they argue that certain testimony and evidence shouldn't have been introduced at trial, like the categories shown here.
DA Bragg's deadline to respond to Trump's arguments is July 24.
A few thoughts on this:
Trump's lawyers are not just challenging his convictions, based on the alleged use of "official-acts evidence."
Since prosecutors brought some of this evidence to the grand jury, they want his indictment thrown out too.
Trump's lawyers agree that he isn't immune from prosecution in his N.Y. case, but they argued before trial that prosecutors shouldn't be allowed to use evidence tied to his official acts.
On Friday, Trump's lawyer argued that ex-AG Bill Barr only appointed Senate-confirmed US Attorneys as special counsel.
Jack Smith just contradicted that in a supplemental briefing showing three of Barr's special counsel picks from 1991 and 1992.
In the same briefing, Smith provided a list of statutes that appear to use "officials" to include inferior officers who don't require the advice and consent of the Senate.
It's quite long, and it rebuts Team Trump's claim that "officials" means something else.
Judge Cannon invited prosecutors to file this brief backing up their arguments defending the special counsel's constitutional authority at the end of Friday's proceedings.